Argentina Open: British number one Cameron Norrie to face Carlos Alcaraz in final

Norrie will play in his fourth clay-court final

British number one Cameron Norrie beat Juan Pablo Varillas in straight sets to reach the final of the Argentina Open.

The 27-year-old won 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 against the Peruvian, who is ranked 101st in the world.

Norrie will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who beat compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles, in Sunday’s final.

It is the second ATP Tour final Norrie has reached in 2023, after losing the Auckland Open final to France’s Richard Gasquet in January.

“I lost a tough final in Auckland, so hopefully I can get some good feelings back tomorrow in the final,” Norrie said.external-link

The Briton, who will be competing for a fifth career title, won his first and only clay-court crown last May when he beat Slovakia’s Alex Molcan at the Lyon Open.

Varillas saved two set points at 4-5 and 5-6 in the opening set, but Norrie saved two break points in the final game and wrapped up victory in one hour 54 minutes.

World number two Alcaraz, who is the top seed in Buenos Aires, beat Zapata Miralles 6-2 6-2 in their semi-final.

This is Alcaraz’s first tournament of 2023 after missing four months with a leg injury that he picked up in pre-season training.

“I was a little bit down after the injury, so I had to recover confidence and rhythm in those four months,” said the 19-year-old, who won last year’s US Open.

“Coming back for my first tournament of 2023 and making the final is so special for me.”

Elsewhere on Saturday, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev beat Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-2 to reach the final of the Rotterdam Open.

He will face Italy’s world number 14 Jannik Sinner, who triumphed over Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 7-5 7-6 (7-5).

Meanwhile, Great Britain’s Liam Broady beat home favourite Mubarak Shannan Zayid 6-1 6-1 in the first round of qualifying for the Qatar Open.

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